The Link
by EA Thomas
Summary: When Carter and O'Neill are linked telepathicallywell...you can guess how crazy things can get...


DISCLAIMER…Stargate not mine…never was might be one day but at the moment I can only borrow it—until I get my dream job…that was a little hint just in case Peter D. is reading this…

On with the show…

"Way to go Lieutenant Colonel Carter," Cater said gritting her teeth as the DHD before her lighted up—in coming wormhole. Pulling her boonie cover tightly over he forehead, she squinted as the next two glyphs lit up. "Yep, you're doing great at this new leadership thing—just great… he's actually coming to fix things and you know it—he knows it."

The wormhole came to life before her as the explosion of water settled into the event horizon and General O'Neill walked through the gate.

Two days prior, Carter, Daniel and Teal'c arrived on P4X-39876 to scout out its surroundings. Finding the Rinuae people there was a surprise to the team, however Daniel had taken off with a middle-aged woman who seemed to be the leader of the people. He could only assume this, seeing as how the Rinuae had developed a language all their own and Daniel had yet to find a common ground to begin communicating with them.

On her last transmission through the gate, Carter had told Gen. O'Neill about Daniel's insistence to stay a few days longer and his only reply was "I'm on my way."

She wasn't sure if he was coming out of anger or as an excuse to get away from Star Gate Command. Since O'Neill's return from Antarctica and his promotion to General, he had seemed distant. He no longer treated Carter, Daniel and Teal'c as his long time friends. It was as if they had become co-workers. She couldn't remember the last time he ate lunch with them in the commissary or stop by Carter's lab to bug her. He even stopped hanging out with Teal'c and Daniel after hours.

And here she was waiting for Gen. O'Neill to come through the gate.

As he stepped through the wormhole, O'Neill paused on the steps. Dressed in his green fatigues with a P 90 strapped to his chest he stepped away from the gate and squinted as he slid on his sunglasses. He started to approach Carter but stopped a few feet from the DHD.

"Wonderful day isn't Carter?" He said in a monotone voice that made Carter cringe.

"Yes Sir." She said falling into step at his side. "Daniel is this way Sir."

Motioning to the path a head of them, they walked silently toward the stone building where Daniel was working.

Daniel could only imagine that the building he had been taken to was a temple at some point. He hovered over the only recognizable text he had found, a small tablet with Gou'led writings on it, but it still wasn't enough to bridge the gap.

Looking over his shoulder, Aliahan tried in her own way to sound out the words but to no avail. Daniel leaned forward on his knees and let out a deep sigh. _This is hopeless…_

"This would be so much easier if I were telepathic." He said muffling his words through his sleeve. "That would solve a lot of problems."

A moment later, Aliahan pulled at his shoulder, urging him to stand.

"Okay, I'm up. What is it?" He asked holding her arms.

She said nothing, only pulled him towards a small room beyond an archway. Standing in the middle of the room she motioned for him to come closer…

Outside the building, Gen. O'Neill and Lt. Col. Carter approached the entrance, armed to the teeth with P 90's and their standard issue gear; they paced them selves as they mounted the seemingly endless set of steps before them.

General O'Neill cursed under his breath, stomping his feet each step of the way as to take his frustration out on the stone steps instead of what he really wanted to take it out on…or rather _who_ he wanted to take it out on.

"I hate it when he does this," O'Neill said as they approached the entrance. "He had better (have) found the meaning of life!" He continued.

"Sir," Carter said trying to ease the tension of the moment. "He most likely… just got caught up in something he was doing-"

"Yeah, well…I'll get him caught up in something alright." He said looking around the main room not seeing Daniel anywhere in sight. "Daniel!" He yelled impatiently.

"I'm back here Jack!" Daniel's voice (consider deleting voice) called from the back room.

O'Neill and Carter headed for Daniel's voice, breaching the archway into the room to find Daniel standing the middle of the room holding the hands of the young woman they had left him with only a few days before.

As they moved into the room, it began to fill with lights that swirled around them and enveloped the room. Instinctively, O'Neill reached out for Carter's arm to pull her back, from what he wasn't certain. Then just as soon as the lights had appeared they dissipated into the air. The four of them stood in the room looking at one another.

"What the hell was that?" O'Neill quipped as he let go of Carter's arm and looked about the room as if the answer were written somewhere on the walls.

"I don't actually know." Daniel said looking to O'Neill and then back to Aliahan. "But…I think she was trying to help."

"Help do what exactly?" He asked snapping his head back to Daniel.

"Well, we've been trying to find a way to communicate for days now…trying to find a common ground. Maybe this is her way of helping me understand a little more about her people."

"By flashing lights at us?" O'Neill asked bluntly. "Look Daniel, you've got two hours to figure out what the flashing lights thing was all about and then we're outta here. If you're late this time I'm coming after you with a Zat, you get me?"

"I won't be late…" He said turning back to Aliahan and ignoring O'Neill and Carter as they walked out of the building.

Two hours later… 

General O'Neill stood at the DHD watching the seconds tick by on his watch.

"He's got ten seconds…" He said watching the numbers intently. "Then I'm going after him."

"I'm coming!" Daniels voice echoed over the hill as he ran towards the gate. "I'm here Jack, don't shoot." He said approaching them with his arms up in the air.

"Alright, let's go home."

"Hey General…" Daniel said with a deliberate hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Daniel- I told you, no 'General' jokes." He said turning on his heels and pointing his fingers right at Daniel's nose.

"Alright…"

"Now…what were you blubbering about?"

"I need some more time with the inscriptions…at least a week…." Daniel said gesturing back to the building.

"Yeah, I'm sure you do. Let's get home, debrief…and 'if' it sounds like a good idea, I send you back with SG-13."

_**BACK AT THE SGC…**_

Gen. O'Neill, Lt. Col. Carter, Daniel, Teal'c and Colonel Crawford sat around the conference table debriefing the mission on P4X-39876.

"I still believe that there is more to discover-" Daniel blurted out over O'Neill's speculation.

"Daniel- for cryin out loud…" O'Neill said trying to resist the urge to burry his face in his hands and scream out his frustrations. "Alright, I'll give you three more days, SG-13 will be in charge and Daniel I swear to god if you take off… Col. Crawford has my permission to shoot you with a Zat...two times." He said unflinching as Daniel tried to pass his words off as a joke.

While Daniel and O'Neill had their little show down of wits, Carter sat beside O'Neill when something hit her. A strange feeling…a thought actually. She readjusted her self in her seat and leaned forward on the table.

"Carter?" O'Neill said noticing her unusual posture.

"It's nothing Sir…" She said returning to her straightened posture.

"Carter." He said again knowing her 'I'm fine' response was just a reaction.

"I might have strained my back off world Sir." She said giving in.

"Head down to the infirmary and get checked out." He said motioning for her to go-- Back to Daniel. "Three days Daniel, that's all. Depart time 0800 tomorrow." He said standing and walking as fast as he could to his office with out appearing too eager to be alone.

He crashed into his chair and let his headrest on the desk. After living his life in the trenches for as long as he could remember, this _desk job_ was starting to ware him down. Paper work and business meetings were never a part of his makeup.

For the first time since joining that Air Force, Jack O'Neill Hated his job. And to make matters worse, his back was hurting.

In the infirmary, Lt. Col. Carter was sprawled out on the exam table as Doctor smith poked around at her spinal cord.

"I don't see any signs of swelling, no tightened muscles. Actually, for what you been through in the past few days I'd say you're in pretty good condition." She said helping Carter sit up right on the table. "You aren't scheduled to go off world for a few days, just take it easy, no heavy lifting and let me know if it gets worse."

"Alright, thank you." Carter said pulling the curtain and reaching for her clothes.

The next morning, 0600; O'Neill leaned against the table in the break room as he poured him self a cup of coffee; the third one that morning. He felt sick, dizzy almost and all morning long he'd been craving chocolate. It was the job, the job was getting to him already and it had only been three months since he took command of the SGC.

Two floors above, Carter was forcing herself to concentrate on the objects before her, but no matter how she tried to, she couldn't kick the sick feeling she'd had all morning.

A light tap on her door pulled her from her work and she straightened as she turned and saw Daniel in her door way.

"You look horrible." He said walking in and handing her a cup of coffee. "Feeling alright?"

"Yeah," she said leaning her back against the table as she sipped her coffee. "Just a little tired I guess."

"Yeah, me too…I woke up with a monster headache this morning-" he said suddenly realizing that her uniform looked a little disheveled. "Did you even go home last night?"

"No." she said flatly. "Shouldn't you be gearing up?" She asked taking another sip from her cup.

"Yeah, just wanted to stop by, say hello…"

"I think I'm going to go get something to eat, wana come?" She said heading for the door.

"I already ate," he said following her out into the hall. "I gotta get ready. Just, take is easy today..." He said turning down the hall.

"Take it easy…right…" she said with a huff before heading down the opposite hall to the cafeteria.

Back in his office, O'Neill leaned back in his chair trying to gather his thoughts. _Hmmm, pie? _He thought, not really knowing where the idea came from. A moment later and he was out of his chair and on his way to the cafeteria, maybe eating something would help him feel better…

She had just sat down at the table with her tray loaded up with two cheeseburgers, French fries, a bowl of chili, two glasses of coke and a big slice of apple pie.

Just as she picked up the greasy cheeseburger a tray hovered near her side and a pair of blue fatigues stood behind it.

"Hey Carter." O'Neill said in a low tired voice.

"Sir." She said startled as she looked up at him.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked as he set his tray down across from her not waiting for her to reply. "I feel horrible." He said bluntly.

"Me too. I've felt sick all morning, if I didn't know better I'd think I had the flu or something."

"Dizzy?"

"Yes sir."

"Headache?"

"Yes sir."

"Nausea?"

"Yes sir, hungry?"

"Not really, I was up in my office and it suddenly hit me…"

"What hit you Sir?"

"Pie…" he said gesturing to his tray with three pieces of apple pie on it.

"Sweet tooth Sir?"

"Not really, now that I think about it, I'm not even hungry…" He said rubbing his temple.

"Me either."

They sat in silence until O'Neill couldn't take it any longer.

"So how's the project going?"

"What project Sir?"

"Uhmm, your current project? You're always working on something…" he said taking a bite of his pie just for the sake of doing something.

"Well, I was trying to work on-" she stopped suddenly and looked at him as though he just said something completely inappropriate. "What did you just say, Sir?"

"Who me? I didn't say anything." He said with a mouthful.

"Really? I could have sworn you said-"

"No-- didn't say anything." He said now fully able to project his voice.

"Oh, what were we talking about?" she questioned as she wrinkled her forehead.

"Uhmm, you were talking about some science project which means I have no idea what you were talking about."

"Oh." She said taking a deep breath. "You know, Sir, my head doesn't hurt anymore."

"Yeah, I'm feeling better too."

"Guess I just had to get out of my lab for a few minutes."

"Yeah, now that I actually have a reason to stay in my office I realize it's way too small, claustrophobic even."

She smiled-- for the first time that day she smiled.

"I gotta get going," he said standing. "Daniel's due to leave in twenty and I would hate to break Hammonds tradition of watching every mission head out."

"I think I'll tag a long Sir." She said following him out in to the hall.

IN THE GATE ROOM… 

Daniel stood in the gate room amongst the Marines of SG-13, standing out like a sore thumb. As jittery as a little kid at Christmas he fidgeted with his hands on a cord attached to his pack and kept looking from the gate to the window up above to look for Sam and Jack.

As O'Neill and Carter entered the command room, Carter took her seat by the gate controls and O'Neill stood a respectable distance behind her but still close enough to look over her shoulder.

"I knew it, I'm late." O'Neill said crossing his arms over his chest. "I hate being late."

"Systems are a go General, we're ready to dial up."

"Alright, hit it." He said reaching for the intercom above her head. Pressing the button he called to the team below. "SG-13 you have a go, check in rotations every two hours." He said waiving them the go a head.

"Yes Sir!" Colonel Crawford called out.

As the gate swooshed open, Daniel was the first one through. Watching him run into the wormhole, O'Neill couldn't help but think something was up, he just didn't know what it could be.

Hours later, once again sitting in his office, O'Neill felt his headache returning. The only thing that gave him a little bit of peace was that Daniel was most likely already driving Col. Crawford out of his mind. Focusing once again on the pile of papers on his desk, he felt a wave of nausea hit him, he couldn't take it any longer, he had to go for a walk…

Back in her lab, Carter was once again sitting in front of her artifacts, though her eyes had blurred and she wasn't really concentrating on anything. Her mind was else where, beyond the nauseating feeling that kept her hands firmly gripped on the table and her feet on the floor.

"Uhmm, hey." O'Neill's voice was haggard and awkward as he entered the room and sat across from Carter who still stared into space. "Carter? You alright?" He asked waiving his hand in front of her eyes, snapping her out of her daydream.

"Sir, I'm sorry. I was just thinking…" She said somewhat embarrassed.

"About what?" He asked propping his elbows up on the table and looking at her.

"I'm trying to figure out the density requirements for the recalibration-" She stopped suddenly giving into the look he was giving her.

It was that look he used to give her in those few moments when they weren't acting _professional_, when all it took was for him to look at her and she knew that everything, no matter what it was, was all right.

He hadn't looked at her like this since the Asguard had brought him back. She had almost thought that he'd lost that part of himself that connected with her. But now it scared her, there was something else there, more than just a look. She thought that for a moment she could _feel_ something, something she'd never felt around him—from him. It scared her, almost, like being on a roller coaster.

She couldn't take the intensity any longer and she looked down at the table, a last ditch effort to break eye contact with him. "I wasn't really doing anything Sir."

"I figured." He said still smiling at her.

"Did you need something Sir?" She asked looking back up.

"Nahh," he said fidgeting with one of the artifacts on the table. "Since I became the big man on base I haven't really had time to come and see your little hang out here…just thought I'd…" He said drifting off.

"Drop by?" She continued.

"Is that alright?" He said thinking for a moment that his actions were inappropriate.

She felt that pang again, somewhere in her head; she felt it loud and clear. A wave of _emotion_ that she knew wasn't her own. It was awkward, unsure and very uncomfortable.

"We can still talk like we used to, you know that right Sir?" she blurted out with out even thinking about what she was saying. Suddenly, realizing how personal her words were she stood abruptly. "I'm sorry Sir, that wasn't right of me to say-"

"It's alright-," He said remaining in his seat, hoping his heartbeat would slow before it jumped out of his chest. She had a knack for doing this to him, he hated it and welcomed it all at once.

"I just thought that-" she started when she felt the pang again. "What was that?" she asked turning around to see him over her microscope.

"What? I didn't say anything." He said looking clueless.

"Okay, this is weird Sir…"

"What?" He asked getting even more lost.

"Ever since we came back from P4X-38796 I've had this sick feeling and a headache that I can't get rid of. No matter what I do it's only gone away twice, when I've been in the same room with you, and when you leave it comes back within minutes."

"What are you saying?" He said scrunching his forehead as her words filtered through his head as though she were speaking German.

"We thought that the lights in that room had no lingering effects…what if it did?" She asked walking around to his side of the table.

"Like what? The lights gave us the flu?" He said not really understanding where she was going with this rant of hers. Then, something drifted into his thoughts…_the lights had done something to them, Daniel was acting funny before he left… _"Maybe it did do something to us, Daniel was acting kinda strange before he left…"

"What?"

"Daniel—he was acting weird, not that that's unusual at all, but it was a different kinda weird…for him anyway."

"That's just what I was going to say…"

"Wow, how many times in your life have you've been able to say that?" He said smiling.

"Truthfully, I think that's the first time I've ever said that to you." She said as a smile broke across her face.

"Hey be nice." He said lightly punching her in the shoulder.

"Alright, Sir. But really I think something is happening-"

"As a result from the lights?" He said without even thinking. A moment later Carter stared at him and he scrunched his forehead again confused at what just came out of his own mouth. "That sounds like something you would say?"

"Yes Sir, it did." She agreed as the puzzle pieces began to come together in her head. "Sir, did you hurt your back on the mission?" She asked already knowing the answer.

"No, I hurt it the day before we left…" he said seeing the gears in her head turning. He drifted off, staring into her eyes, getting lost… "I heard that." He said suddenly.

"I didn't say anything, Sir." Carter said just above a whisper.

"I know, but I still heard you say something about… feeling _something_." He said getting even more lost in her presence. They didn't even realize but they had closed the distance between them to about a foot now, her leaning against the table and him still in his chair.

It was a gravitation pull, it was the only explanation… the link between them hadn't be reestablished since his return, and now it was back in its rightful place. But it was stronger, powerful even, more powerful than it had ever been before, they couldn't ignore it this time.

"Lt. Col. Carter." Tealc's voice was crystal clear and in one moment it broke the trance they were in.

Sitting back from her, O'Neill quickly gathered himself together and stood, heading for the door.

"I'm going to catch up on that pile of paper work I've got-" He said approaching Teal'c.

"General O'Neill, the message I have is for you as well." He said stopping O'Neill in his tracks.

"What's up T?"

"Daniel Jackson is sending a transmission through the gate, he wishes to speak with both of you."

"Why didn't you just page us?" Carter said joining the two by the door.

"The Airman in the command room paged for you both when Daniel Jackson dialed in ten minutes ago. Neither of you responded; I came to look for you."

"You paged us?" O'Neill questioned.

"Indeed." Teal'c said simply.

"I didn't hear anything." Carter said confused.

"The intercom must be broke again, I'll have Syler take a look at it. Let's go see what Danny wants."

In the command room Daniel's voice was coming over the PA system as the three of them walked in.

"Daniel! What's going on? Where's Col. Crawford?" He yelled out to the speaker.

"Oh, he's in the town, everything's fine." He said reassuringly.

"Okay, so what's the phone call for?"

"Well, something- unexpected- has happened."

"I don't like that word Daniel…what did you do?"

"Well to put it simply… I found a way to communicate with Aliahan."

"And how did you accomplish that?"

"Well, it's interesting actually, the lights in the room must have activated a device in the room we didn't see and somehow managed to transmit a signal to our recesses and create a telepathic-"

"DANIEL!" O'Neill screamed into the microphone as he grew even more impatient

"I can read her mind!" He said screamed back, getting very excited. "I don't know how to explain it Jack-" A slight pause later followed by a sneeze and he was rambling once again. "It took a little while to figure out what was going on- it started off by being able to sense each others emotions"

"Daniel, you mean you can actually read that woman's thoughts?" Carter asked.

"Yeah Sam, if only you could experience this…it's amazing, we're actually able to talk telepathically…it's amazing!"

In that moment it hit O'Neill and Carter like a ton of bricks. O'Neill felt her eyes in the back of his head and he was afraid to turn around to meet them, he knew what she was thinking, _literally_.

O'Neill had bolted from the room without so much as a glance at Teal'c or Carter and left Daniel on the radio.

One look at Teal'c and Carter was out the door and on Gen. O'Neill's heels.

"Sir!" She called down the hall. But he kept walking, she didn't need to call his name again, she knew what he was thinking and he was right, they couldn't talk around the others.

In the security of his office, O'Neill waited in the doorway holding the door handle when Carter walked in and he shut the door behind her.

"So that's what's going on?" He said abruptly as she turned to see him completely unraveled. "We're reading each other's minds?!" He screamed.

"Sir, you might not want to go screaming that to the top of you lungs at this moment."

"Oh, it's alright…the walls are sound proof in here." He said with a smirk.

The look on her face switched to pure shocked as she stared at him…she heard what he was thinking.

"Okay, I don't know if I like hearing _every_ little thought that goes through your mind…" she said walking over to the chair by his desk.

"Why? What did I say? Or think?" He said walking over to her.

"Uhmm, nothing…" She said pulling herself together. "we need to figure out how to-"

"Reverse the effects of the-" He said stopping and shaking his head. "Alright, now I'm talking like you! How do we stop this?" He said rubbing his temple.

"I think we need to go back to the planet-"

"Yeah but what do we do there? It's not like there's going to be a reverse button on the damn thing! Unless you can reconfigure the polarities- God damn it Carter! Stop thinking for one moment! You're making _me_ dizzy!" He said pacing around in a small circle.

"The only thing we have to go on is back on that planet Sir, we have to go back."

"Alright, I've got some meeting this after noon; we can head back after…until then just-"

"Think good thoughts. I know." She said smiling.

"Stop that Carter…" He said as she walked to the door.

"Stop what Sir?"

"You know what." He quipped as he pointed his finger at her.

"Sorry Sir, you're going to have to be more specific…" She couldn't help but grin like a little kid.

"You are evil, you know that?" he said closing the door behind her. " I have work to do." He said walking back to his desk.

Out in the hall, Carter walked back to her lab with the smile still on her face. She shook her head as another wave hit her… _Soundproof walls indeed_… This was going to be an interesting 24 hours…

The meetings went as planned; a few this is this and that is that conversations, and luncheon and before he knew it the afternoon had gone and it was time to return to the planet. He was glad of it too, he could only take so much of restraining himself from reacting to Carter's thoughts. She seemed to handle it rather well, how he didn't know, but he knew that he felt like his mind was in a vice the whole afternoon.

Meeting up in the gateroom, Teal'c was ready to go and Carter walked in and stopped dead in her tracks when he meet Gen. O'Neill's gaze. Yep, there it was, those eyes… she shook her head and looked down to the ground as she attempted to adjust her pack on her back, but she just couldn't reach that last strap on her-

Without even saying a word, O'Neill approached and tightened the very strap she was trying to reach. She shouldn't have been as surprise as she was, but it was how he reached up and put her hand down before he adjusted the strap…it was almost…gentle?

NO- the word was clear in her mind, but it wasn't her conscious screaming at her… it was _his_…

She turned and caught his gaze, not even paying attention to Teal'c who stood by with his forehead scrunched in confusion at the situation that played out before him…

It was only seconds before they broke eye contact, but it felt like a lifetime. This was getting dangerous, stronger and dangerous…uncontrollable.

"Let's head out!" O'Neill called out over his shoulder as he headed for the gate.

Carter and Teal'c followed, in silence.

On the other side of the gate, the sky was a bright orange as the suns were setting.

Col. Crawford and the rest of SG-13 were in the town, the opposite direction of the building where O'Neill and Carter were headed.

"Alright T, head down to the town and check in with Crawford…we'll meet up when we find out what Daniel has gotten himself into." He said waking the dirt path toward the hill, Carter on his heels.

With Teal'c about a half mile in the opposite direction, O'Neill finally felt comfortable to talk to Carter.

"Sir, I don't think you realize what an opportunity this could be." Carter began trying to lighten the mood.

"Carter, I swear to god if you even think about strapping me to a chair and poking me with needles you are getting left on this rock!" He said trudging along the path.

"Sir, I just meant that…"

"Yeah see, that's the thing-I KNOW WHAT YOU MEANT!" He said waiving his hands in the air. "We really need to stop this thing…for the last hour I've had the work flux compositor stuck in my head, and I don't even know what the hell a flux compositor is!"

"Alright Sir, you win…"

"WOAH!" He said reeling around to look at her. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what Sir?"

"Don't hand me that, I heard what you said."

"I didn't say anything."

"Oh, you know what I meant! Just stop thinking!"

"Uhmm, Okay Sir."

"Don't sass me Carter."

"Yes Sir…"

"You know what… you aren't so nice inside that head of yours." He said whirling around and stomping off toward the building.

The rest of the three-mile hike was made without conversation. Both of them tried their hardest to keep their mind clear of anything, O'Neill had resorted to repeating the word 'sand' over and over in his mind, almost making a song out of it by the time they reached the steps.

"Alright," he said catching Carter's arm as she started up the stairs. "Not one word of this to Daniel, the last thing I need is him-" She forgot herself for a moment and put her hand over his mouth to keep him from continuing. His eyes wide, O'Neill could only stand there as she stared him straight in the eyes.

_I KNOW._

He heard her loud and clear, and even though he knew she was overstepping her bounds as his junior officer, a part of him liked her being in charge, taking control of a situation that couldn't be controlled. It made him feel a little more hopeful that this might turn out all right.

She slowly dropped her hand and continued up the staircase as he followed her. He quickened his pace to enter the building before her, an instinct- something he'd always done no matter what the situation. He turned around in the room and didn't see Daniel.

"Oh for cryin out-" He stopped in mid sentence as he saw what he was looking for, or rather more than what he was looking for. His shoulders softened as he looked beyond Carter to see Daniel in the middle of what seemed extremely passionate kiss with Aliahan.

She turned and her mouth dropped open at the sight of Daniel, or the lack there of as he ignored O'Neill and Carter.

"Hey Danny." O'Neill said, his voice echoing through the stone building.

After a moment he backed from the woman and he approached O'Neill who was smiling wildly at him.

_I can't wait to hear this one… _he thought as Daniel approached.

"Jack, Sam! You are not going to believe this! The room with the lights…it's called a Vorish- it was created by their goddess Leahia about 17,000 years ago. Now get this, they recognized the language barrier between the two civilizations that were brought here and this building was a gift from Leahia to allow them to communicate. As a sign of faith, the two children of the head families- one from each culture- were brought here and married, where they were linked telepathically, so they could communicate, bring the two civilizations together… it's amazing, I wish there was a way to study it, but the structure is falling a part, Aliahan told me that they don't even use this anymore…it hasn't been used-well besides me and her- for over a century…" he said drifting off.

"Daniel- how'd you reverse it?" O'Neill said trying to get his attention back.

"Oh, she took me back into the room with the lights and-"

He didn't listen to anymore, O'Neill simply took Carter by the arm and headed to the room.

Now standing in the middle, O'Neill faced Carter…

"Okay, we were standing here, the lights came on and I grabbed your arm-" he said taking her arm.

As soon as he touched her, the room began to shake as thought an earth quake were about to shake the building to the ground. Then the walls began to crumble from the ceiling and before they knew it the room was falling down around them. They raced for the exit but it was too late, the archway crashed to the floor before them, enclosing them into an even smaller space than before. The room caved in around them until the tremor subsided, and the room was dark.

The cave in and knocked them both unconscious. The room was silent, sections of the archway lay on top of each other like a child's fort and a thick cloud of dust hung in the air.

O'Neill was the first to regain consciousness, moving his body slowly to check for injuries along the way. There was a sharp pain in his left shoulder and his head was throbbing, but by his standards, he was fine and he began to maneuver his legs and torso from under the rubble.

Once free, he tried to look around only to see dust.

"Carter?" He called out. "Carter, you alright?" He called louder as he got to his feet.

A soft groan and movement of rocks gave him a general idea as to where she was and he began climbing over a large section of the wall to reach her.

"Stay still," he said climbing down beside her. "Let me see how bad it is." He said seeing that a good portion of the wall had collapsed on her.

"I'm alright Sir," she said sitting up. "I'm not pinned down." She easily cleared the rubble once she knocked a few small rocks off her legs. "Are you alright, Sir?" She said seeing the blood on his shirt.

"It's just a scratch." He said reaching out to help her across the rubble.

Once they were both in the clearing, she sat against the wall while he examined the rubble for an exit.

"There has to be a way out." He said trying to find way through.

"It looks pretty solid Sir." She said as he tried to scale the larger section of the wall and fell to the ground when he couldn't get a grip.

"OW!" He yelled as he fell and landed on his rear end. "That's not as easy as it looks." He said making his way back to the clearing. "Well, we just wait for Daniel then, he'll get SG-13 here in no time and they can dig us out."

"That depends on how much of the building caved in Sir, Daniel could be trapped too, and the two is about 20 miles off- SG-13 wouldn't hear the-"

"Christ Carter! I thought I was the pessimist in the unit!"

"Yes Sir." She said coldly, but it wasn't the words she spoke that he heard.

"I'm not a part of the unit anymore?" He asked letting each of his words flow out slowly.

"I didn't say-" she said getting defensive, then stopping in mid sentence as their eyes met.

_You didn't have to say anything. _He said to her.

"It's getting stronger." He said dismissing the comment.

"I'm sorry, Sir." She said realizing how much she'd hurt him.

"Don't be. I get it." He said standing and walking over to the other side of the wall that was clear.

"Get what Sir?"

"I'm not with the unit anymore, I get it."

"That's not what I meant-"

"Look, I don't think we should start second guessing every little thought that we hear…there's a reason we don't say everything we think."

"We need to find a way out of here." She said stating the obvious again, something she was really good at. "There has to be a way figure out how to reverse this…link…if I can just find the technology behind it…but I don't see any signs of…anything…"

"Ha." He said abruptly.

"What?"

"You're making that up."

"Making what up?"

"All this time I thought you were just really smart, when it turns out that you babble like that when you're nervous." He said smiling.

"I thought we weren't going to go poking around in each other's heads…"

"I wasn't poking, you were screaming that one at me…"

"I was not!"

He got to her, made her laugh- mission accomplished, he smiled.

"You're horrible Sir." She said sitting down again.

"Got you to relax didn't I?"

"Yes Sir."

"Alright, we just have to take a not so serious approach to this or we're going to end up killing each other-" He turned to her his eyes wide. " I heard that." He said in a fatherly tone he hadn't meant to use.

"Well, it's true."

"What ever." He said dismissing the comment.

"You know, if we weren't stuck in here…it would be amazing to run a few-"

"Tests! That's all you really want to do isn't it? Poke me and see if you feel it?! No way! Don't even think about it! That's what I hate about you scientists! Always looking to poke something! Well you're not poking me!" He stopped right there, realizing his rant was over board. "You know what I mean." He said sitting back down.

That was the end of that rant. She let silence fall between them and let herself drift off into sleep.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she woke. But Gen O'Neill was asleep when she sat up and looked around the darkened room.

She leaned against the wall and looked at him, really looked at him since he'd returned. He'd grown a few more gray hairs, another wrinkle maybe. His shoulder was still hurting him, she could feel it as clear as day, why he wouldn't let her help she didn't know. She watched him as he slept and then the wave hit her again, feelings and emotions she couldn't understand, they were all jumbled together. But she figured that was how he was on the inside, maybe he couldn't even understand himself half the time.

O'Neill sat up with a start and Winced at the stabbing pain that ripped through his shoulder as his shirt pulled at the wound.

"Let me look at it Sir." she said moving over to him.

"It's fine-"

"Let me make sure…" She pulled him forward by his opposite shoulder and lifted his shirt to look at the gash on his shoulder. "And that doesn't hurt?" she said taking her jacket off and ripping the sleeve off to dry the blood off his back.

"I didn't say it didn't hurt."

As she dried the blood she put the rag down and began to feel for other injuries along his shoulders and spine. He shifted beneath her touch but she kept right on with her examination. They both went silent. O'Neill, obviously awkward with the situation but no matter how he tried to control his facial expressions, his thoughts betrayed him and before he knew it Carter's hand abruptly lifted from his back and she gasped slightly as she sat back from him. He knew what had happened, he wanted to completely ignore the situation as he usually did but this time he couldn't by pass the situation with a smirk or a sarcastic comment. He sat forward and slowly let out a breath he didn't know he was holding on.

"Carter…" He began not really knowing what he was going to say next.

"I _felt_ that." She said barely above a whisper.

"Carter…don't…" He said softly looking down to the ground in front of him.

"I…I…I know…Sir…" she said moving away from him and against the wall.

He felt the twinge in her heart as she recoiled from him. He could bare his own frustration with his feelings, but adding hers to it only made the act of ignoring them that much harder. He hadn't had to keep himself under guard since he returned; when he first got back it seemed that what ever was between him and Carter had died with his absence. He thought that maybe it had never been there in the first place. But now, it was back in full force. He couldn't hold it back as he had done for so many years before.

"Sam…" he whispered.

"That's what you were keeping from me? Wasn't it?" She asked easing up.

"Sam, we can't talk about this." He said still not looking at her.

"When you were a sleep, I felt it…I just didn't know what it was…it scared me and then…like a door…it was shut off completely." She said not listening to his warning.

"Sam-Don't do this." He said, the pain evident in his voice.

"I know we can't…" she said giving up.

"Just try to get some sleep." He said moving a distance away from her.

They both lay awake, pretending to be asleep but both knowing the other was awake. Suddenly, in the darkness Carter sat up.

"I have an idea." She blurted out.

"What?"

"Daniel said that the light created a link between him and Aliahan; they were touching when the lights swarmed around us and you grabbed my arm."

"Things we already know." He said not wanting to know where she was going with this.

"BUT-" She said getting to her feet. "When we came back for Daniel he was kissing her…"

"Yeah, I think I know where you are going with this, but explain it to me anyway…"

"I've been operating under the assumption the that light released a chemical that heightened the emotional output of the pituitary gland…but…what if it released not one but two chemicals that react to one another like-" She paused, recognizing the glassed over look in his eyes. "In rare instances it's been proven that certain solid materials have an electromagnetic reaction when the two are put in close proximity, sometimes the level can light a light bulb, but when you mix the twp together, the reaction is neutralized."

"So you're saying the we have to mix us together?" he said looking at her as though she'd lost her mind this time.

"No, this makes sense…why else would Aliahan be kissing Daniel?"

"Well he does have a habit of kissing strange women from other planets."

"Sir, think about it…"

"Okay, I'm listening to your head right now and as much as I don't understand a bit of it…I get the impression that you are saying that this…link… will be… neutralized if we…" He said not wanting to finish the last part.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying Sir."

"Carter." He said returning to his commanding officer tone.

"Sir… If I'm right, this is the only way we're going to fix this and if we don't-"

"We'll have to deal with it when we get back to the base."

"Exactly Sir."

"So we either fix it our selves or…"

"Or we can deal with it for the rest of our lives and not tell anyone." She said wringing her hands together.

"So we have to…"

"Yes Sir."

"How long?"

"A few minutes."

"Oh- that's all?"

"I'm sure about this Sir."

"I know you are." He said trying to avoid the inevitable. "There has to be another way." he said taking a few steps to widen the distance between them.

"I don't think there is Sir." She said with a failing truth in her voice.

"No." He said walking in a slight circle.

"Sir-"

"No, it's against regulations."

"Is that going to be your excuse ever time this comes up!" She screamed, forgetting herself for the second time that day.

"Yeah-- it is--because that's all there is to it!" he yelled back at her. "Now figure out something else!" He said turning as though he were going to storm off but realized there was a wall behind him.

She took a step toward him, about to yell right back at him when he turned on his heels and came face to face with her. She felt her body easing into the eyes that were fixed on her. He was looking dead into her eyes, unblinking and unwavering. This intensity she felt was enough to make her dizzy but even though her body felt as if it were going to collapse, she held her ground, enable to break away from his eyes.

And in that moment neither one of them had to say anything. The words and emotions that had been kept hidden away from the world for as long as they existed now flowed freely between them and they both surrendered to it.

Then, the truth came to her, as plain as day—as though it were her own thoughts she never knew where there.

"You can't go back…" She said taking a step to him.

"Not from this." He said keeping his eyes locked with hers.

He was so forthright in his emotions it overwhelmed her, but at the same time she welcomed it. All these years of second-guessing and hoping against hope that she wasn't alone in her desires.

"I'll find another way." She said looking away; breaking the virtual embrace that had held them in an alternate universe where their feelings knew no boundaries.

His chest felt tight and he couldn't breathe steady. He sat against the wall, watching her pacing and then sitting on the mound of rubble behind her.

They sat I silence, trying to ignore each other's random thoughts that ran through the others mind. O'Neil sat in serious thought, this was serious, not something to act on lightly, he needed to think, there were repercussions that would effect them both and their careers.

He knew what had to be done, and there was only one way to go about it. And he didn't want to be the one to say it, but he pulled himself together and took a deep breath and took the plunge…

"If…we…do this…: he said forcing the words out. "It's gotta be…above board." He said trying to put it gently.

"Above board?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"It's..it's…" He said as began fumbling over his words.

"Professional." She finished for him.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"We're not breaking regulations…"

"It's a medical treatment…"

"Like chemotherapy." She said trying to keep the conversation going.

"So, we agree?"

"Yes Sir."

"Okay…"

"Now?" She asked trying to get some control on the situation.

"Why not? The sooner I get you out of my head…"

"The better…" she finished.

They stood apart from each other, clearly awkward in the realization of what was about to happen.

A heart beat later and he was slowly taking steps toward her. With every inch that he moved, O'Neill's pulse quickened and it was harder to breath.

He stopped inches away from her, looking down at her forehead— _could this be any more awkward?_

He reached up to cup her chin in his hand and without even thinking she flinched.

"Hands in pockets." Carter said gasping at his touch. Then, shoving her hands deep into her pockets she stood still as he closed the distance once more.

"Good idea." He said digging his hands into his pockets.

They had trusted each other with their lives, been to hell and back and saved each other more times than they could count. Those events had once cemented them into a certain level of trust and ease with the other that others couldn't understand if they tried. But at that moment, neither one of them had ever felt more uncomfortable than they did at that moment.

Carter felt her whole body quivering as he took a step toward her. She was always in control of everything around her, but now she couldn't even control her own breathing.

They slowly closed the distance between them until only inches separated them. Carter found herself staring into his chest as a last ditch effort at avoiding the situation But just as she closed her eyes she felt his fingers gently raising her chin up to meet his. Her eyes fluttered open; it terrified her to be this close to him and she wanted to pull away…

"No hands." She said in a shaky whisper.

He slowly lowered his hand and took a deep breath.

She felt gravity pulling them together again, once again her eyes slowly shut as his lips touched her own.

Every muscle in her body tensed at once and she found her self up on her tiptoes and leaning into his chest for balance as she pressed her lips to his.

O'Neill felt as though he's lost all ability to breath as carter's lips pressed against his. He fought to keep control of the situation, he fought the urge to touch her and as though on command his entire body became a ridged statue as he fought to control his hands from…what they wanted to do. He forced his arms straight and clutched his fists until his knuckles went white. But he knew that this wasn't going to get the job done, no amount of polite and professionalism was going to neutralize the link.

Carter fought to keep her hands in her pockets as she tried to get closer and closer to him. But as she rose up even higher on her toes she felt herself loosing her balance…

O'Neill was reeling with the awkwardness of the whole idea; he was kissing Samantha Carter…it was all too surreal…how long had he wanted to kiss her? How many times had he almost lost her? How many times was he going to let her walk away thinking that he didn't care? All these thoughts and more ran through his mind and felt her twinge as she lost her balance and without even thinking about it he released his hands and caught her around the waist.

His touch sent electricity thought her body as though she'd been electrocuted and she pulled back as he held her close, not letting her pull back.

She could taste the sweetness of his breath as she fought to catch her own. She was lost; this was different- this was not above board.

She thought to pull away, but was soon confronted by Jack O'Neill's eyes penetrating her thoughts and in one moment everything about him changed and suddenly-- he was not her commanding officer any longer. His hands clutched at her waist and ran the length of her back over her shirt to get entangled in her hair as he drew her lips to his once more, only this time there was nothing polite about it.

She was stunned, unable to move, but once her senses kicked in she freed her own hands from their prison and traced his arms up to his neck where she wrapped her arms about his shoulder pulling him closer as the kiss took on a life of its own, burning its way through both of them.

Time stood still in their little universe, nothing, not the room they were stuck in, the SGC or the military that governed their lives existed as years of denial came to an end and all thoughts and desires flowed freely.

Enclosing his arms around her even tighter, O'Neill was, for the first time, letting go… breathing her in as his mouth moved over hers. Anticipating her every thought, his hands moved over her skin as he lifted the back of her shirt.

As his hands gripped her back, Carter gasped, arching her back into him. She couldn't control anything anymore, even that little voice, that was normally loud and clear in her head was now pushed into the back of her mind, as it screamed for her to stop… she didn't listen.

They were unaware of anything going on in the real world—not the lights flickering around the room or the sound of the rubble being broken through…

Loosing his balance and falling against the wall, O'Neill took Carter into his arms as he leaned against the rock as he pulled her back into his embrace.

Then it came, softly at first…then became louder…"Jack!? Sam!? Are you guys alright?" Daniels voice called from the other side of the cave in.

His voice broke the trance. Carter jerked away from O'Neill and stumbled over a few rocks behind her as he pushed off from the wall and gaped at the light breaking into the room more and more as the rescue team came closer to clearing the rubble.

Carter couldn't think. Her mind was going in a thousand directions… part of her was wondering what had happened, what was she thinking? How had she let that happen? WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!! It echoed in her mind over and over…

With out thinking, O'Neill crossed to Carter and took her hand in his; holding it between them… They locked eyes once again looking for the intimacy that had broken down the wall that had kept them apart…but there was no link, they had succeeded, the preverbal wall was back where it belonged…between them.

"Jack? Sam?" Daniel called out again.

Letting her hand slip from his, he walked toward the break in the cave in.

Carter let out a sign and let her hand fall to her side. Nothing needed to be said. They both knew what had to be done.

Leaning over, O'Neill shouted back at Daniel through the opening.

"Hey, Daniel we're here!"

"You guys okay?" He yelled.

"Yeah, we're alright…" He said looking back to Carter. "It was just a cave in…"


End file.
